PLAINFIELD — In response to the Rauner administration telling prison nurses that their jobs are being outsourced, State Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant (D-Shorewood) issued the following statement:

“There are 17 nurses whose jobs at Stateville Correctional Facility are going to be outsourced. With Illinois not having a budget, the last thing the Governor should be doing is creating more chaos in state government.

From a management perspective, this decision doesn’t make much sense. Outsourcing services would likely lead to less supervisory oversight and more problems in our correctional facilities. The governor has made the wrong decision.”

It was reported yesterday that Gov. Rauner sent a letter to Alice Johnson, executive director for the Illinois Nurses Association, announcing that 124 unionized nurses working in 12 Illinois prisons will be laid off effective June 15.

Biography: Lifelong educator; former Will County superintendent and secretary of Will County Regional Board of School Trustees; B.A., Illinois State University; MS, University of St. Francis; EdD., Loyola.